How Aloka the Peace Dog, companion to Buddhist monks, found healing from an NC vet

She stepped inside the RV and there sat Aloka the Peace Dog, four-legged ambassador for the Buddhist monks who so enchanted Raleigh — a fur-covered symbol for the purpose-driven life.

Like thousands, Erin O’Leary watched the monks pass through the Triangle on their celebrated walk to spread mindfulness and compassion, a trek that inspired pilgrims across Raleigh to wave, bow and spread rose blossoms on the frigid asphalt.

But as a house-call veterinarian, O’Leary felt special affection for Aloka, the monks’ walking companion hobbled by a ligament tear, who gazed on the adoring crowds from the comfort of his RV cushion, peeking through the window with ears cocked jauntily upward.

“I was bawling,” O’Leary said, describing her monk experience, “so I had to reach out.”

So last week in Louisburg, O’Leary landed a rare audience with the monks’ beatific mascot, bearing comfort in the form of belly rubs and laser therapy.

Whatever glow radiated from this sage canine came not from nutritional supplements, but from within.

How else to explain the heart-shaped marking on his forehead?

“I was just sitting there looking at him,” O’Leary said. “Dogs are the emblem of this peace and joy and unconditional love. But this dog is on another level. He’s bringing that to the monks, which is what they’re all about.”

‘He kind of chose them’

Aloka carries an abundance mystique simply by trotting alongside 19 monks clad in brown robes, some of them barefoot. In Pali, his name means brightness or enlightenment.

But the dog’s spiritual quality grows once one hears how, as a stray, he adopted the monks on a similar walk through India, opting to join them in their silent determination.

“My breath was taken away, the fact that he kind of chose them,” O’Leary said. “He’s a smart guy. He made a good choice.”

‘Really amazing’

Earlier in January, Aloka suffered a cruciate ligament tear while crossing South Carolina, requiring surgery that limited his steps to 10 minutes at a time, several times a day. Later in his journey, he would spend the days on bed rest and focus on recovery.

With Aloka’s consent, O’Leary applied infrared light to his right leg, a painless treatment that reduces inflammation and swelling. She added more to his other joints that may be overworked from taking up slack.

Therapy takes just a few minutes per joint, short enough that O’Leary did not meet the monks — only Aloka’s handler.

But she noted he did not limp during their visit. And though the slippery winter ground is too risky for a recuperating dog, she held out hope that he might trot into Washington, D.C., on fresh legs.

“It felt really amazing,” she said. “People just want so much to be helpful.”

A day later, the monks thanked O’Leary on Aloka’s Facebook page, complete with the two of them joined hand to paw — abundant payment for pilgrims with walking yet to finish.

This story was originally published February 2, 2026 at 5:30 AM.

Josh Shaffer

The News & Observer

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Josh Shaffer is a general assignment reporter on the watch for “talkers,” which are stories you might discuss around a water cooler. He has worked for The News & Observer since 2004 and writes a column about unusual people and places.